ALLOUEZ – After the legislative approach failed, Allouez leaders are trying a new strategy to convince state lawmakers to close an aging prison that sits on land key to economic development in the village.

A public petition drive.

A petition being circulated by village leaders asks Brown County residents to call on Gov. Scott Walker to close the Green Bay Correctional Institution. The 120-year-old maximum-security prison, which its critics say is outdated and dangerous, sits on more than 50 acres just south of State 172 between Riverside Drive and Webster Avenue that could be redeveloped for residential or commercial use.

The petition calls on the governor to support the construction of a replacement prison in the region. The authors of the petition say the state should run the prison, but that a private company should build it.

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Jim Rafter(Photo: File/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

"The idea is to let the people who vote for state legislators and the governor let them know what they think about this," said Allouez Village President Jim Rafter. "If we don't let the people down in Madison know this is important to Brown County, they can turn around and say they haven't heard from anyone."

A county resident can sign the petition in multiple ways: By going to villageofallouez.com and clicking a link near the bottom of the page, or visiting the village hall, 1900 Libal St., and signing a paper copy.

A person may also print a copy, sign it, and email it to Brad@villageofallouez.com or deliver it to village hall.

Labor Day target

The request is similar to a proposal introduced last year by state Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, and backed by officials from Allouez and county leaders including Executive Troy Streckenbach. That approach failed to gain the necessary support in the state Legislature.

Unlike that plan, this proposal does not specifically back building a replacement prison in Kewaunee County. Instead, it says a new facility could be built in Brown or any contiguous county.

"Repurposing of the current GBCI site would require construction of a new state-operated prison, likely in rural Brown County or an adjacent county, with a facility that is privately built and owned (and therefore taxable)," the petition states.

Communities in the area have had differing reactions to the proposal to replace GBCI.

Kewaunee County supervisors voted unanimously in 2017 to support Steffen's plan, and leaders in Luxemburg and Algoma said they'd consider hosting the prison because of the tax revenue it would bring.

But leaders in Outagamie County said they wouldn't host a new prison, and went a step further: they said they would oppose Steffen's proposal until the state had determined the precise number of prison beds that are needed.

Tax struggle

While there's no formal timetable for the petition drive, Steffen said it needs to be complete in four months.

Steffen(Photo: Steffen)

"We need this wrapped up by Labor Day, for a couple reasons," he said. "First, we're going to have multiple gubernatorial candidates, and we need to know their positions on this issue. Our sitting governor is going to have people working on his next budget, and we'd like to have this project included in that."

He and Rafter say selling the site to a private company that would operate a mixed-use development could have an economic impact of up to $80 million. That would help speed street repair and fuel other improvements.

Because GBCI is state-owned, it does not pay property taxes.

Allouez has struggled recently to increase its property-tax base, in part because the village has few sites that can be developed commercially.

That has forced village officials to look for ways to reduce costs, including folding the Allouez fire department into Green Bay's several years ago.

Safety, staffing worries

Walker's administration is studying the situation at Green Bay Correctional as part of an analysis of the prison system in general, but has not taken a position on future actions regarding GBCI, a spokesman said Wednesday.

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Green Bay Correctional Institution was first used as a prison in the late 1800s. Critics say it's overcrowded, dangerous, and takes valuable land off the tax rolls in Allouez.(Photo: File/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

"Included in the 2017-2019 biennial budget is language which establishes a correctional facilities planning committee to develop a long-range master plan of department facilities which must be submitted to the governor and the legislature," Corrections Department spokesman Tristan Cook said in an email. "The department is working closely with staff and managers to identify changes that will increase facility safety and security … (and) working diligently to recruit staff to fill vacant positions."

Prison staff, lawmakers and state officials have acknowledged concerns about the safety of corrections officers and inmates at GBCI, crowding, and high staff turnover.

Recent figures show the prison operating at about 145 percent of its official capacity, Steffen said. He said that, along with a series of attacks by inmates on staff, contribute to an annual staff-turnover rate of 14 percent.

Learn more

For answers to questions about the petition and what it proposes, email Village President Jim Rafter at Jrafter@villageofallouez.com or call (920) 448-2400 during business hours.

About GBCI

The prison opened as the Wisconsin State Reformatory in 1898, in a former bicycle factory on 50 then-rural acres.

The annual cost per inmate of $35,400 is more than $3,000 higher than the state average, figures from the Department of Administration show.

Inefficient design means the prison requires 256 uniformed staff members and almost 140 other employees. Steffen says a modern prison would require significantly fewer, and would cost less to operate.

Its estimated inmate population of 1,047 is about 300 more than the number for which it is designed.